World's First Robotic Floor Washer: iRobot Scooba

May 24, 2005 The company that brought the world’s first practical, affordable and viable Robotic Floorvac to market is set to show a next-generation model that simultaneously vacuums, scrubs and dries hard floors. The new iRobot Scooba Robotic Floor Washer will be shown in a "sneak preview" today at The Wall Street Journal's "D: All Things Digital" conference in California. Scooba, a next-generation robot, is designed to vacuum, scrub and dry hard floors automatically. The new robot builds on technology advances from the company's iRobot Roomba Robotic Floorvac.

iRobot announced a partnership with Clorox - Clorox and iRobot began collaboration a year ago to create a specially engineered cleaning solution for Scooba.

"iRobot Scooba underscores our commitment to building robots that perform everyday tasks more effectively," said iRobot Chief Executive Officer Colin Angle. "Scooba will liberate people from mops and buckets, and introduce a revolutionary way to clean floors."

Unlike a conventional mop and bucket, the robot only uses fresh water and cleaning solution from a clean tank, so Scooba never spreads dirty water on the floor. Scooba cleans wet spills in addition to dirt and grime, and it is safe for use on all sealed hard floor surfaces, including wood and tile.

iRobot is credited with igniting a growing consumer robot industry in 2002 with the Roomba Robotic Floorvac which is now available in 25 countries, and has sold 1.2 million units.

A limited number of Scooba Robotic Floor Washers will be available in time for the 2005 holiday season, with larger distribution planned for the first quarter of 2006. The Clorox cleaning solution will be marketed jointly by Clorox and iRobot.

The Scooba can also be seen in action in a video and animated demonstration at the iRobot Web site.

After Editing or Managing over 50 print publications primarily in the role of a Magazine Doctor, Mike embraced the internet full-time in 1995 and became a "start-up all-rounder" – quite a few start-ups later, he founded Gizmag in 2002. Now he can write again. All articles by Mike Hanlon